Of Cake and Fretting
by Fossicker
Summary: Andromeda and Ted Tonks discuss their daughter's impending Sorting.


I would really, really appreciate any feedback you can provide, even if it's three words thirty years from now.

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"You're fretting," Ted said calmly as he perused the back cover of the last Hobgoblins record.

"I'm cleaning," Andromeda replied tersely, restacking Dora's pile of schoolbooks in alphabetical order.

"You're cleaning _and_ fretting. Stop worrying about Dora, love, she'll be fine. She's going to love Hogwarts - she'll have a grand time, and you know that."

"I do know that, yes. It's not what I'm fretting about."

"Ah," Ted said with a smile, setting the record aside. "So you admit you're fretting. Always a good start, now we just need to work on figuring out _why_ you're fretting."

Andromeda turned around long enough to roll her eyes at him, then turned back and began re-stacking the school books in order of the classes she thought Dora might like the most.

"You know," Ted mused, "You could make this easy for me by simply telling me what it is your fretting about. Then I might be able to help you a bit, rather than waste time trying to figure it out."

Andromeda gave a melodramatic sigh and turned around again, abandoning the school books as she made her way to the couch.

Ted grinned rather triumphantly, and Dromeda affectionately rolled her eyes again before sitting down and folding her hands in her lap.

"Dora's been asking me about all the Houses lately," she began. "I would like to tell her that the Houses don't really matter as far as judging people in the real world go, and that they all have redeeming qualities and have produced excellent witches and wizards."

"Which is true," Ted said, patting her arm.

"Yes, but at the same time I - I don't want her to end up in Slytherin. I just couldn't bear it!"

Indeed, facing the prospect that her beautiful little girl could end up in the same House that had kept Bella, Cissy and all the rest of _them_ had been hard. She knew that Slytherin was just a House, just as all the others were, and it wasn't going to turn her daughter into something she wasn't - Andromeda herself was testament to that. But all this Knowing didn't stop her from Fretting.

"Dromeda," Ted soothed. "Dora will be fine in whatever House she ends up in, and I'm quite sure she'll have plenty of friends from all the other Houses as well. She will go where she goes, and wherever she ends up will be right for her."

Dromeda nodded, her hands twisting in her lap. She shook her head and huffed, then reached across to peck Ted's cheek.

"I know," she said. "I shouldn't be worrying about it."

Ted rested his head against hers. "Actually, just to put your mind at ease, I personally don't think of Dora as much of a Slytherin anyway."

Dromeda smiled slightly. "I suppose not, though she's certainly devious enough when it comes to making trouble."

"Yes, but not enough so that it's the stand-out aspect of her character. Besides, Dora's been asking me about the Houses as well."

"Has she?" Dromeda asked.

"Hmm. And it seems to me that she's less interested in the personality-judgement of each House, and more into figuring out which one she can cause the most mischief in and get away with it."

Dromeda laughed. "That does seem more like our Dora."

Ted grinned and pressed a kiss to her temple, and Dromeda shook her head ruefully.

"To think I've been worrying about it for weeks! Years, even."

"No matter," Ted said getting to his feet and stretching. "Now, about dinner. I was thinking cake."

"Cake?" Dromeda asked incredulously.

"Cake," Ted affirmed. "Chocolate, in fact."

Dromeda raised an eyebrow, but Ted just grinned.

"Well, my dessert-eating partner in crime is going away in a few days, and I thought having cake for dinner might be in order."

Dromeda shook her head and rose to her feet, affectionately patting Ted's stomach as she headed to the kitchen.

"I suppose for one night it can't hurt... Chocolate cake it is."

"Cake?" Dora asked, thumping down the stairs excitedly. "Can I lick the bowl?"

"You'll have to fight me for it," Ted teased, ruffling her hair as they jostled each other into the kitchen after Dromeda.


End file.
